Lemon Sorbet is no longer just a delicious dessert. Benjamin Moore has named their popular pale yellow paint, Lemon Sorbet, the 2013 color of the year.

Sonu Mathew, Benjamin Moore senior interior designer, helps forecast upcoming paint trends to guide homeowners and interior designers in the right direction. As for the Lemon Sorbet, Mathew says that yellow evokes a sense of optimism. “As the world seems to be gradually turning the corner on recessionary times,” she says, “this whispery tint of the color is timely and evocative of the uptick.”

This, she notes, is a drastic shift away from the more saturated hues that were popular last year.

Benjamin Moore pairs Lemon Sorbet with other soft hues, such as a light, blue-grey color called Tranquility and a dusty sea-foam color called Stratton Blue, in their Trends 2013 combinations.

“We want to help take the guesswork out of color selection,” Mathew says. “In proposing these combinations we’re letting consumers know that they can confidently choose any one color for a single or all walls, then use another for the ceiling and another for trims, moldings and other accents.”

The 18 other trend colors that Benjamin Moore is serving up for 2013 are equally as delicious as lemon sorbet (2019-60), and they're proposed in combinations that create a feast for the eyes when teamed with existing home furnishings. With lemon sorbet (2019-60) as the common denominator and assured to complement any or all of the other Benjamin Moore paint colors named, the suggested combinations include: